


Free To A Good Home: One Used Southern Doctor

by JaneyKatherineHummingbird



Series: McKirk Genderswap Fics [8]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: AU, Bones is a mess, F/M, Female James T. Kirk, Genderswap, Jamie has been too, Slave! Bones, discussions of rape, non-graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-06-06 16:08:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6760825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneyKatherineHummingbird/pseuds/JaneyKatherineHummingbird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jamie is given a gift by grateful aliens--a ticked off southern doctor. Can she befriend him or are the hurts of his past just too much?</p><p>Reformatted for easier reading!! 10-17-16</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Gift

Captain Jamie T. Kirk had just finished a successful mission: stopping a a long civil war and persuading the natives that peace and federation membership was the best thing for them.

The native ambassadors had done much bowing and smiling and complimenting and then they suddenly begged permission to present her with a gift to show their appreciation. She had accepted politely, not wanting to be rude, but regretted it a moment later when the aliens brought forth the "gift." 

It was......a human man. A chained up, scowling, well-built man. Jamie looked at Spock frantically. She hadn't known this people group owned slaves. She would have never agreed to this if she had. 

"Uhura, is there anyway I can get out of this and not look bad?" She whispered to the lieutenant next to her.

Uhura shook her head slowly, making a face. "I'm afraid not, Captain. We can give him his freedom back, though. The chains don't appear to agree with him much." 

Jamie had to agree. She walked over to the man, standing sullenly between the two attendants who held the leash attached to his collar. Heavy Manacles were attached to his wrists and ankles.

Disgust at the practice simmered inside of her as she examined the slave close up. He didn't show marks of mistreatment, but looked rather thin for his build: tall and broad-shouldered. He was clad in a plain but clean tunic and trousers. Fierce hazel eyes glared out at her from under his messy brown hair. 

Meanwhile, the ambassador was pointing out the man's traits as if making a sale. "He is a very hard worker despite his sour manner. See this muscle!!" He poked the man's biceps and gestured to his chest. "A fine specimen and he is yours, Captain!!" He beamed at her. 

Despite her utter revulsion, Jamie mustered her most diplomatic acceptance, and soon the Enterprise party and their acquisition returned to the ship. As soon as they hit the transporter pad, the poor man's knees buckled and he pitched forward, landing awkwardly on his hands and knees. Jamie scrambled over to help him, knowing transporters could be tricky when one wasn't used to them. 

"Are you okay?", she asked him, observing his nauseous expression.

He closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths before he answered her in a rather breathless, rumbly, and very southern tone. 

"It's unnatural. No one's atoms should be scrambled like that. One mistake and you're flying through outer space or whizzing around in pieces forever. Course I'm not fine."

He opened his eyes and stared at her, as if this was all her fault.

"Then there's the little matter of being passed around like livestock. Slavery's supposed to be illegal in the Federation." 

He glared at his manacled hands. Jamie couldn't imagine what he'd been through and how a Federation human had ended up in this position in the first place. 

"Scotty! We've brought a guest! Get your lock-picking stuff and get these chains off of him!" She called to the engineer.

"Aye, Captain. Right away!" Scotty called back. 

The man had risen to his feet by this time and leaned against the wall, trying to recover his equilibrium. Spock broke the silence with a question everyone wanted to ask.

"May I enquire as to your identity and how you came to be enslaved?"

The man looked at Spock warily, but replied. 

"Name's Leonard McCoy. Up until three years ago, I was a respected doctor in Georgia. Then my wife left me and took everything but my bones. Woman went completely berserk. The people she hired to kill me decided to profit off me instead and I ended up in an Orion slave house. You can imagine the hellish place THAT was. I'm a doctor, not a whore." 

He looked even more grim, eyes darkening with ugly memories. Jamie felt for him. She had seen the worst of humanity in her early teens and was forever changed by the experience.

Leonard continued, "Last year, even the Orion scum couldn't stand me anymore and I got sold to these lively individuals who so kindly presented me to you. They weren't too bad, comparatively." He have a snort of derision. 

Scotty finished with the manacles and he began to rub his limbs vigorously.

"Thank you. It'll be nice to have my circulation back," he said gratefully, giving Scotty a more friendly look than any Jamie had yet seen. "This collar will come off pretty easily. It's a cheap leather imitation," Leonard added.

"Glad to be of service, Dr. McCoy. I'm Montgomery Scott, chief engineer of the USS Enterprise. Welcome aboard."

The genial Scot shook hands with Leonard who looked surprised at the last words. 

"The Enterprise? Flagship of the fleet?", he questioned, eyebrow flying up. He turned to Jamie. "Then you must be...."

"Captain Jamie T. Kirk, at your service." Jamie smiled and held out her hand. "Welcome aboard, Doctor? You're a free man again."


	2. Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leonard relishes the taste of freedom and gets rid of that nasty collar.

Despite his hatred of space travel in general, Leonard was relieved inside when the captain told him he was free. Finally, after the LONG three years, it was over. He'd had a better time with the Dwerms than with the Orions, but there was nothing like real freedom. Only problem was, he'd have to completely restart his life and he had no idea where to begin. 

The famous Jamie T. Kirk seemed like a sincere enough person, though he knew better than to make any judgments before really knowing someone. He'd heard the story of her background and how she'd saved earth from the crazy Romulan, but he'd also heard the other stories, too--less positive ones. 

Not that he really cared what she'd done before Starfleet. He was not remotely interested in starting a flirtation with any pretty woman or man or species, for that matter. He might be celibate for the rest of his life, in fact. He'd learned his lesson the hard way--nearly murdered by a crazy woman and then used for other people's pleasure for two years. 

He couldn't deny her vivid eyes were.....unusual though. They seemed discerning and almost understanding.

"Doctor McCoy, is there anyone we can contact for you? I imagine your family would be overjoyed to hear you're alive."

The captain's voice broke into his reverie. He thought about it and only one person came to mind.

"My mother. Eleanor McCoy. Lives in Georgia. Everyone else is either dead or wants me dead. I don't know how we'll be able to let her know without Jocelyn finding out. She's really......unstable." 

"We'll check on her whereabouts first," assured Jamie. "I know people who can keep an eye out. You'd probably like a good meal and some sleep, Bones."

He blinked. Had she seriously said that?

"What did you call me?", he asked incredulously, hands on his hips.

"Bones!!" She repeated cheerfully. "You said that's all you have left." She grinned in a friendly innocent fashion that hit something inside him. 

"You're quite the handful, aren't you?" he grumbled mildly.

"That's a well-known fact, Bones. You'll be face palming with the rest of them soon enough," she shot back. "Now, follow me, and I'll show you to your lodgings. You can get some rest and replicate some dinner."

The slender figure in command yellow turned away and he obediently started after her. Food and sleep sounded very attractive to him just now. 

She led him down the hall, into a turbo lift, down several decks, and into another hallway lined with evenly spaced doors.

"Here are the guest cabins. They're a bit nicer than the regular crew quarters. We like to pamper visitors."

She stopped at a door and typed in a command to open it.

"It's all yours, Doctor, for as long as you're here. There's a small replicator if you'd like a snack. There's a bathroom and sonic shower through that door. I can find you some clean clothes as well. The collar doesn't suit you." 

She was teasing him again. Leonard sighed and decided to play along with it.

"What, it doesn't match my eyes?" He stuck his finger through the brown band and affected an offended air.

"No", she said softly, "it doesn't match your temperament. You're not the submissive type. I saw that right away.

His face flushed. It was uncanny, the way she read him. He chose to ignore the loaded comment and began rummaging in various drawers. Presently, he procured a small pair of scissors and handed them to Jamie.

"Will you do the honors?" He asked gruffly, "I'm not in the mood for slicing my own throat accidentally." 

"Sure, Bones. I'd be glad to."

He felt warm fingers on the back of his neck, lifting up the collar, then heard a snip of the scissors and it fell away. Jamie presented it to him with a flourish.

"The last symbol of your servitude, stripped away!"She said dramatically. "You can dispose of it however you like. I wouldn't recommend fire, though. That doesn't work out too well on a starship." 

She handed him the collar, which he promptly dumped in the trash bin. "Good riddance!" Leonard declared, looking at it with loathing.

He sat down on the bed and folded his arms. It was long since he'd had the luxury of a comfortable bed. And when he had, he couldn't enjoy it because he was drugged out of his mind to make him compliant for his masters. 

Jamie evidently sensed his change in mood and excused herself saying, "If you need anything, I'll be on the bridge. I'll send someone down with a change of clothes in an hour. I hope you'll feel safe here, Bones," she added seriously.

"I hope so, too, Captain," he replied politely. "Y'all are an interesting bunch. Thank you for what you've done." 

Jamie looked even more serious. "I only did what any humane person would when given someone as a "present".

He let himself look her full in those blue eyes when he replied honestly.

"Unfortunately, in my experience, such people have been hard to come by." She winced, and there flashed that look again, the look that said she understood exactly what he meant. She gathered herself quickly, though, giving a brief smile and "Good night", before leaving the room. 

Leonard wondered about the mysterious Jamie Kirk and what had happened to make her look like that. He REALLY hoped it wasn't from a similar personal experience. He may not know her very well, but he wouldn't wish his time in slavery on anyone. He let himself relax and drift off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a very long and exhausting Friday, so it took me awhile to finish this chapter. Yay for the weekend!!!!


	3. The Grand Tour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much longer chapter today. I struggled with it greatly. Warning: Discussions of rape, but no graphic stuff

Jamie spent her shift thinking about her new passenger. She wondered what went on behind that ferocious expression. He had been kept in an Orion "pleasure" house for a significant amount of time and hadn't broken, at least not yet, But there were definitely cracks. 

She knew one could only hold the memories at bay for so long before they took control. After being rescued from Tarsus IV, she'd chosen to not deal with what happened, shutting out everyone including the counsellors. 

She sighed and called Starfleet, informing them of their guest and asking if Bones's mom could be notified safely without the crazy ex finding out.

"This Jocelyn is a piece of work," she told Admiral Pike, "after they divorced she tried to have him killed, but the hit men decided to sell him to some Orions instead. So he spent two years in one of their filthy houses, being forced to service clients. I'm guessing they had to drug him, because he's not the type to willingly go along with that." Pike grimaced.

"That's vile. I knew his ex was a little unhinged when I recruited him, but when he went AWOL, I certainly didn't suspect her having a hand in it."

Jamie gaped. "He's a member of Starfleet?"

Yep," Pike confirmed. "Started your last year. I'm surprised you never ran into each other, considering how often you ended up in Medical. He probably would have been a CMO by now, he's that gifted." 

"Wow!" was all the Captain could say in response. "Is it okay if he stays on board for awhile? We're not near a Starbase and I really don't know if he's ready to be subjected to a bunch of questioning just yet."

"He can stay," the admiral assented, "but I'll need to talk to him personally. See if he can identify the attackers or if he even wants to still be in Starfleet after this. He knows me, Jamie. I won't pump him for details he's not willing to give."

Jamie thought about it and agreed to put the doctor in touch as soon as she could. When she went to lunch in the mess hall, she spotted Leonard sitting with Scotty at the table, apparently being entertained by the engineer's crazy stories. Jamie smiled at the sight. If anyone could help Leonard feel at home, it was Scotty, with his cheery friendliness and hilarious stories. She took her tray over to their table and sat down across from the doctor. 

"Spreading wild tales about us, Scotty?" She asked the engineer.

"Oh you know it, Captain!" He replied cheerfully. "Leonard should be fully informed of the crazy on board. This ship is very exciting."

Jamie laughed. She looked at Leonard, and he was even smiling. What a nice smile, she thought. Good for Scotty. He could tell all the wildly exaggerated stories he wanted if he brought that dimpled grin to Bones's face. She listened to another story of Keenser's misadventures in the Jeffries tubes while she polished off her food and then spoke up.

"Would you like me to take you on a tour of my beautiful ship, Bones? I'll be off shift in a couple hours and I can show you around this place if you'd like. We're really not that bad."

Bones thought about it for a minute and nodded. "Might as well. Do me good to see civilized life again. All I did on that rock planet was haul rock to build the huts for the Dwerms. Very simple species, they are." 

No wonder his muscles were so developed, thought Jamie, then blushed when she realized she was staring at said biceps. She put on a bright smile to disguise her reaction.

"Okay then! I'll see you at 4! Be prepared to be amazed, Bones! Our silver lady is the finest in the fleet."

"That she is, Captain. The very finest!", Scotty enthused. They both watched her practically dance away. 

Precisely on time, Jamie met Bones outside his room and began the walk to the turbo lift.

"We'll start with the bridge and work down," she told him. "I have a feeling you'll like our Medbay, Doctor. Admiral Pike told me you're fleet, too. He thought you'd be a great CMO."

"Yeah, well, that was before," Bones said, looking away. "You told him what happened?"

"Yes," confirmed Jamie, "he was relieved to hear you're alive. It seems we were both recruited by the same guy."

They exited the lift and headed toward the bridge.

"He's getting in touch with your mom and going to check on the whereabouts of your ex. He'd like to talk to you, soon, though."

Bones only grunted, and she decided not to press just yet. 

Over the course of the evening, she took him over the whole ship, from the bridge, to the rec rooms and observation decks, then the science labs and finally, Medbay. Jamie watched carefully to see his reaction when they stepped into the pristine environment currently ruled by Dr. M'Benga.

"Hello, Captain," called a cheerful voice, "what brings you down here willingly?"

"A guest, Geoff!", she replied excitedly. "We picked him up on our last mission and I'm giving him the grand tour. Meet Doctor Leonard McCoy!"

Before she got the words out, M'Benga was moving forward to grab Leonard in a bear hug.

"Len!" He cried, "Where have you been? I thought you'd dropped off the face of the earth!!"

Bones looked first stunned, then overjoyed.

"Geoff!! You got your dream assignment! CMO of the Enterprise, who'd have thought?"

They gave each other a backslapping hug, then stepped back and started chatting away like old friends. They must have known each other at the academy, Jamie guessed. She was glad to find that Bones had an old buddy on the ship that might help him loosen up a little and feel at home.

So where've you been for three years?" asked Geoff genially, when they had moved into his office. "You missed out on saving the world."

Bones got that wary, self-loathing look again. 

"It's a long story, Geoff. Let's just say it involves Kidnappers, Orions and being taken against my will on a regular basis."

Jamie was surprised he said that much. Horror washed over the other doctor's face when he realized what McCoy referred to.

"How long?," he asked quietly.

"Two years," Bones said wearily. "Then I got sold to these Dwerm people and spent another year doing nothing but manual labor. Yesterday they decided I would make a fine present for your captain here." He nodded at Jamie. "So here I am." 

Their eyes met, and for a second Jamie saw the deep gratitude in them. She gave him a smile that said "you're welcome."

M'Benga tried to keep up the conversation, worried for his friend, but Bones didn't want to talk much beyond plesantries after that, so they bid the Medbay farewell and returned to the observation deck. 

"Well, what do you think? Isn't she great?" Jamie asked, breaking the silence as they stared at the stars.

"Pretty nice toy you've got, Captain. Takes a lot of work and determination to become the fleets youngest captain. I'm pretty sure I remember Pike alternating between bragging about you and wanting to bang his head against the wall," his lip quirked upward.

"Yep. I have him plenty of trouble." Jamie smiled fondly. "But before I was a starship captain, I was a genius level repeat offender, trying to drink and sex and fight away the memories of my own personal hell. Ever hear of Tarsus IV?"

He made a face. "Complete and utter tragedy that got swept under the rug. I saw holos of some of the survivors, then nothing at all. I used to wonder what happened to them." Leonard sounded thoughtful. 

Jamie took a breath and plunged on. "One of them is standing right here," she said quietly.

He froze, staring a hole through her. "You were one of those starved kids?", he whispered in disbelief.

"Yes," she sighed. "I got caught by Kodos near the end and he had some pretty awful plans for me, but was going to wait until I turned 15 to carry them out. Like that made it any less wrong," She snorted derisively. He kept me tied up and enjoyed the occasional leer and grope, but wouldn't let anyone else touch me. One night, one of his men got horny and decided to just go for it. I wasn't strong enough to fight him, being weakened from the hunger, so I just squeezed my eyes shut and hoped to die." She shuddered. "In the morning, Kodos saw the blood and marks on me and lost it. He brutally killed the man in front of all his troops. I ended up being rescued five weeks later." 

Leonard's hands were balled into trembling fists and his breathing was harsh.

"Fourteen!!" He let out a string of curses. "That's vile!! The lowlife scum!" He turned to look at her, eyes blazing. "Why are you telling me this? I've only known you a day. That's not something you share with a stranger."

"It's because I already consider you a friend Bones," Jamie replied, laying a calming hand in his shoulder. "I want you to know I understand some of what you've felt. You won't have to pretend everything's all right around me. And you'll have a willing ear when you're ready to talk about it."

He stiffened and turned away. "I'm going to bed. Got some thinking to do. Thanks for the tour, Captain."

Jamie wasn't surprised at the rebuff. After all, she herself was an expert at them. The man was clearly still raw, being only a year removed from his nightmarish existence. She sat in the dark and hoped she hadn't ruined any chance for befriending him.


	4. Bones talks to Pike

Leonard did do a lot of thinking over the next few days, while he tried to avoid Jamie. He was angry. Angry at himself, angry at the people who had robbed him of his will, angry at life for what it had done to him and Jamie. No one deserved that, least of all her. He didn't want her to be able to understand what he'd endured because it meant she'd suffered the same thing. 

He admired her courage in telling him her story, much as it upset him. He felt guilty he couldn't do the same, but that would mean having to actually think about the hazy memories of creepy hands and hot breath all over him and being unable to move or resist, especially when they shot him up with stuff that made him desperate. That was what made him loathe himself: the fact that he, respected southern gentleman Leonard McCoy, was reduced to begging like a wanton......thing. 

They'd started doing that when people complained that he didn't shut up about the nasty diseases they were going to get. He'd mostly mouthed off like that to keep his mind off what was going on when he was being treated like a racehorse at the Derby. Ugh. 

So He spent his time with Scotty who eagerly showed him all over engineering and explained just how powerful the Enterprise was. Geoff let him hang around Medbay, proudly showing off the sweet tech the ship was equipped with. He never said another word about the past, other than to give a detailed account of the battle of Vulcan and Nero's defeat. 

"Pike probably would like to hear from you. He gets attached to his protégés, I hear. He's like a father to the captain," Geoff mentioned one day at lunch.

Leonard glanced over at Jamie. She was in an animated conversation with her navigator, eyes glowing as they discussed some really technical stuff Leonard couldn't begin to comprehend. She caught him staring at her and smiled briefly. It was as if the sun came out when she looked like that. Leonard looked away, a combination of dazzled and guilty. 

"You know, I think that's a good idea, Geoff." He finally responded to his friend. "Who do I go to for permission?"

"Lieutenant Uhura, the communications officer. She'll get you connected."

Geoff motioned to the red-shirted woman, who was seated beside Spock, listening to Jamie with some amusement. 

The Lieutenant was agreeable and soon Leonard was seated in front of a screen talking to Chris Pike for the first time in three long years.

"How're you getting along, McCoy?" the admiral asked.

"Pretty well," he shrugged. "There's good people on board."

"She's been very gracious. I sense she can be trouble, too. She's got this way about her....." He stopped himself short, but Pike smiled in understanding.

"Yep. You've got the idea. Brilliant and fascinating, but a magnet for trouble. Half of my grey hairs are a direct or indirect result of Jamie T. Kirk. If she wants to befriend you, it's going to happen no matter how hard you struggle. That woman does not give up." 

Leonard felt the twinge of guilt again. He'd been downright snubbing her ever since that conversation and she'd backed off.

"But that's not what you really need to talk to me about, is it?" He asked, knowing what was coming. Pike looked grave.

"Only part of it. I know this Isn't going to be fun for you, but I have to get some statements so Starfleet can clear you and these men can be brought to justice."

Leonard groaned inwardly, but decided to get the explanation over with. It would keep them too busy to poke any further for now.

"I was jumped on my way home from the hospital, knocked out, and blindfolded. I woke up hearing them arguing about who was going to do the deed, and then they decided they'd get more money for selling me than for killing me. All I know is they called each other Norm and Rex; never saw their faces. They sold me to some bastard called Dir with a gash across his nose and a giant earring and that's all you want to know, trust me."

Leonard looked away from the screen, shutting up tightly again. 

"Thank You, Leonard. That's what we needed for now. But they're not going to let you have an official post until you've seen a counsellor and had an evaluation," Pike warned.

"That's okay," Leonard mumbled, "I'm not sure I'm cut out for it anyway."

Pike looked pained, but let the matter rest and signed off with only a serious, "Take care of yourself, McCoy. Let Jamie in a little bit. You'd be surprised at what you'd find."

He already had been surprised, and not entirely in a positive way, but that wasn't anything SHE had done wrong. 

He spent the day with M'Benga, helping him with some inventory stuff. He couldn't deny it felt good to be back in the medical realm again, even if it was a very small role. When Leonard returned to his room that night, there was a package resting on his desk. A handwritten note was placed on top. Leonard picked it up wondering who in the world could have left it.

A loopy scrawl read,  
"Bones,  
Please accept this as a token of my apology for jumping the gun and stirring up bad memories. Pike always says I leap before I look. I thought you could use these two items, being part of the crew now. The PADD is loaded with medical journals so you can catch up on the latest advances and keep your brilliant doctor mind busy. I've programmed all essential numbers into the communicator so you can easily reach any of the bridge crew. Again, I'm sorry for the emotional bombardment. But I really hope you'll give me another chance to be your friend.  
Sincerely,  
Jamie Tabitha Kirk

Leonard was touched to say the least. How could he continue his his avoidance policy anymore? He really had missed her. A smile came to his lips as he surveyed the gleaming technology in his hand. Jamie knew the way to a doctor's heart.


	5. Talking Again

Jamie really hoped her peace offering would be accepted by Bones. Goodness knows, her opening up had messed things up big time, but she would have told him eventually. She'd spent years pretending it never happened, hiding her inner shame from the world. 

After the third day of Bones avoiding her, she'd wracked her brain for ideas and asked Geoff for advice. He'd suggested the medical journals and Jamie added in the communicator for good measure. Now, all there was to do was wait and hope he forgave her. Despite the awkwardness between them, she was glad he was interacting with the crew. Uhura told her he'd called Pike and that was a positive sign. 

The morning after her secret delivery to Bones, she got a message on her comm.

"Thanks for the reading material. Made my day. Sorry for being a jerk. See you at lunch?"  
Leonard

Success! She pumped her fist in triumph and quickly responded.  
"No problem, Bones! Lunch sounds great!"  
Kirk

Spock observed the Captain was in very high spirits on the bridge that morning, but said nothing, only sharing an amused glance with Lieutenant Uhura when they observed Jamie moving to an invisible beat, fingers dancing along the arms of her captain's chair. 

As soon as noon hit, she was out of there in a flash, headed for the turbo lift. She tried not to look too eager as she headed over to Bones and Scotty's table. 

"Hi, Scotty, Hi Bones!" She greeted the men happily.

"Well, hello, Captain," answered Scotty.

Bones smiled slowly at her, making her heart give a little thump. She told herself it was only relief. 

"Howdy, Captain," he drawled. "Come to join us ole geezers for lunch?"

She playfully poked him in rebuke. "Now, now, Bones. You're not an old geezer. We're only six years apart. I looked up some info." 

"Oh?" he asked cautiously, "discover all my dark secrets?"

"No, Bones." She was quick to reassure him, even though he'd already told her a lot of dark secrets already. "Just the pertinent information. You enjoying some light reading?" 

His countenance brightened. "Very much. It's been a breath of fresh air to my doctor soul. It's crazy the innovations that have happened in the three years I was gone. Geoff's been filling me in, too. Maybe I'll get back into the swing of things one of these days." 

That was a positive sign. Bones needed normalcy again and doing what he loved would provide that, at least. Jamie had thought of another activity he might enjoy also.

"Well, today after I finish reports and endless headachy stuff, would you like to join us for Enterprise board game night? We break out all the ancient classics: Scrabble, Yahtzee, Sorry, Monopoly, Risk, Clue, Apples To Apples, even Guess Who. It's great fun."

"Indeed it is, Captain," agreed Scotty. 

"Every month, we set up a bunch of tables in the rec room and people flock to their favorite games. We'd welcome you at the Risk table. That's Jamie's favorite."

"Seems appropriate," he said, eyes twinkling at the captain. She was nonplussed.

"It's how I roll. You'll understand eventually once you've worked with M'Benga long enough. It's a battle to keep me put together. So how about it, Bones?"

She batted her eyelashes at him in an imploring fashion. 

"I was a decent scrabble player back in the day," Leonard admitted, "and Nana and I played Yahtzee a lot in the summers I spent with her. Sure, might as well give it a whirl."

He didn't miss the way her eyes lit up in anticipation. Those blue eyes would be the death of him one day, he had a feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was such a short chapter. My muse was being stingy. Ugh.


	6. Game Night

That evening, Leonard took himself to the recreation room as he promised, feeling something like excitement. The competitive spirit in him was definitely enthusiastic about a good battle at the scrabble board again. It had been way too long since he'd been able to enjoy some friendly competition.

Judging by the packed room, game night was pretty popular with the crew. There had to be at least fifty bodies crammed in there gathered around tables or sitting on the floor around various games.

"Sorry!" Squealed an ensign, gleefully bumping her opponent's piece back to start. 

Commander Spock appeared to be deeply engrossed in a game of Monopoly. "Go to Jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 credits."

Those words sounded so funny in his serious monotone, Leonard couldn't help but chuckle. Uhura sighed and moved the little shoe to jail. Scotty and Jamie waved him over to their table, where they were setting up the scrabble board. 

"This is quite the event," he remarked. "Even Spock is participating." He glanced over at the Monopoly game again.

"It's become very popular," confirmed Jamie happily. "Excellent crew bonding time. Spock gets ridiculously cutthroat at that game. Only Uhura and the Andorian engineers will play with him."

Leonard chuckled. Spock obviously took the game, like everything else he did, very seriously. 

Since the Risk game was already in use, the three of them played Scrabble, watched closely by Scotty's buddy Keenser. It was quite the competitive game and he found himself deeply engrossed.

He and Jamie were neck and neck for awhile, but It was Scotty who surprised them both by winning the whole thing.

"Nice job, Scotty," Jamie said admiringly. "You broke the streak at last."

"Nifty move, coming up with 'asphyxiation' at the end. I take my hat off to you," Leonard admired.

Scotty grinned. "I've been studying up since last time," he said, "shall we have another round?" 

They ended up playing three more games that evening. Jamie won two and Leonard took the last one. They stood up and stretched afterwards, stiff from sitting so long.

The room was beginning to clear out as people packed up games and made challenges for the next time. Leonard was in a great mood, feeling satisfied with himself, until an Orion girl ran up to Jamie, hugging her enthusiastically. 

"Gaila!" Jamie squealed, "did you beat Sulu's tail at Risk?"

"Soundly!", the red-haired women declared. She turned toward Leonard, who felt suddenly queasy. "Where did you find this one?" she asked, looking over the doctor. "You been keeping him to yourself? That's not nice, Jamie."

Jamie looked slightly panicked and tried to halt things before Leonard got too uncomfortable. 

"Umm, Leonard, this is Gaila, Gaila, Leonard. He's a friend of Geoff's and I don't think he's interested right now. He's been through a lot recently."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Gaila said, sympathetically, "But Jamie's really good at cheering people up. She'll have you feeling better in no time." 

He watched Jamie turn beet red at the insinuation her friend made. He inwardly groaned. Why couldn't he just be friends with a pretty woman without assumptions being made? But that was just how Orions tended to think. He'd once thought it was cute, back at the academy. Not after he had seen some of them treat their fellow Orions and other species like cattle. 

Jamie distracted her friend by asking her how in the world she beat Sulu, the resident master of Risk, at his own game. They began an enthusiastic discussion about that game, leaving Leonard free to sneak quietly out. He hadn't known there were any Orions on board, but then he'd only met a tiny fraction of the crew. Maybe he wouldn't be so eager to visit Engineering in the future.

He knew it wasn't her fault and she seemed like a sweet girl, but for a second he'd had a vivid flashback to being taken for a "test drive" by another Orion woman in the employ of his owner. The memories were beginning to jump out at him now. He'd stuffed them down for so long, trying to survive each day of dragging rocks around and monotonous hard labor. 

But, now that he was safe, there wasn't much to hide behind, other than his reading and helping in Medbay. Just yesterday, he had seen a tall Cardassian and broke out in a cold sweat, remembering one of his worst encounters.

He'd hidden in a dark corner for several minutes while he waited for his fear to pass and heartbeat return to normal. Pike was right. How could he ever hope to treat patients effectively when he risked a meltdown when ever he saw one that somewhat resembled a rapist? 

He was ready to turn in when the door chimed. Jamie stood in the doorway, looking worried.

"Are you all right, Bones? I forgot to tell you about Gaila. I'm sorry."

He motioned her to come in. "It's okay, Jamie. You're captain of a starship." Leonard tried to reassure her. "You've got plenty more problems to deal with without worrying about what might trigger me." 

"I know. But I should have said something." She sighed. "I had so many things that set me off after Tarsus IV. Took my subconscious years to not send me into a freak out whenever I saw a man with a similar body type to the attacker. So don't think there's anything abnormal about you, Bones." 

Jamie looked him in the eyes again, her blue eyes earnest. "We do have a wonderful psychologist on board if you feel you'd like to spill your gut. She sees me regularly and it's done a world of good, both personally and professionally." She rubbed the back of her head ruefully. "I almost got kicked out of the academy because I thought I could deal just fine on my own."

Leonard raised an eyebrow. "What did you do?", he asked. Her answer was honest and remorseful. 

"Nearly beat a cadet half to death for saying something disgusting about my friend. I lost control of myself in a way that scared me badly. It was like the guy suddenly turned into Kodos and the rapist all in one. Pike told me I could either get help or face an indefinite suspension. He looked so sad. I broke then and there and agreed to go to counseling." She gave a long, quivering sigh. "That started the long road back. I......hope you won't follow my bullheaded example. I really want you in my crew someday. You're a great doctor and friend. Anyway, Thanks for hanging out with us tonight. It was a lot of fun." 

Leonard felt warm hearing her words. Maybe there was hope for him yet. He wanted to be the person she thought he was, He really did. Jamie left him a few minutes later with a gentle goodnight and a handshake, giving him a small card with a name and number on it. He carefully set it on his nightstand and thought about what she'd said before drifting off to sleep.


	7. Empty

Jamie suited up for a scout mission two days later feeling eager to be exploring again. Much as she loved the Enterprise, it felt good to go planetside again, particularly an unmapped planet. It brought excitement and possible danger, both of which appealed to her adventurous side. 

Jamie, Sulu, Spock and several red shirts were about to investigate an apparently empty planet that showed signs of formerly being inhabited. There appeared to be dwellings and signs of cultivated areas, but no life signs appeared on the scanner. Thus, they were sent to investigate. 

Bones had grumped at her to "come back in one piece, dang it. I don't like my friends being dismembered." 

She'd smiled and given him a peck on the cheek. "I'll do my best, Bones. I'm not fond of being torn apart either. Geoff said he could use your input on a few things involving possible upgrades. That should keep you from worrying about me too much." 

He looked unconvinced. "Worryin's my middle name, Captain."

She grinned at his adorable expression. "No, it's Horatio, actually. Bye!"

And she was taken by the transporter beams before he could make a smart remark or demand to know how she knew his middle name. She loved driving that man crazy and she had no idea why. Well, okay, maybe she did, but that wasn't something she was going to dwell on. 

The planet was eerily quiet when they arrived, not even a bird call could be heard.

"What do the readings say, Spock?", she asked her first officer, "Any life signs at all?" 

"Negative, Captain. Nothing to indicate any sentient beings. Most unusual, considering these structures are mostly intact, indicating that this planet was inhabited recently, perhaps a year ago." 

"Bizarre," muttered Jamie. "Let's carefully check out these buildings and see if we find any clues about the former residents. Keep your phasers ready and be very alert."

"Yes, Captain," Spock replied and they headed to the nearest stone hut, which looked slightly worn, but not in ruins. When they entered, they saw signs that the inhabitants had been going about their everyday lives and hadn't taken much with them when they vanished. Crude dishes were on the tables, clothes were draped over chairs, and there were random objects scattered that had apparently been dropped in the middle of their use. 

"It appears they were a humanoid species, judging from the household effects evidence," Spock observed.

"Yeah, the footprints in the dirt say human all right," Sulu agreed, "But why in the world would they just leave like that? There are no bodies to suggest an attack."

"Right," agreed Jamie. "And no evidence of a major natural disaster. Let's see if there's any clues in the tracks." 

They left the houses behind and carefully searched for any footprints that might show where the mass exodus went. 

"Look at these marks," observed Sulu, "it's like something was dragged along the ground. Several somethings, in fact."

"Yes. And there's more over here," responded Jamie excitedly, "let's follow the trail and see where they ended up." 

For several hundred yards they followed the drag marks which were accompanied by heavy boot prints at various places. Jamie's face turned grim, realizing the people had not left of their own free will.

At last they came to a clearing where there there were depressions like a group of people had been sitting or lying together and more heavy boot prints around the perimeter.

"They were herded into one group, but didn't go anywhere else," Jamie pondered, wandering around the area, searching for clues. Occasionally there were obvious signs of struggling and fighting, but they appeared to have been in vain.

"I've found something!" Sulu called. They gathered close and saw that it was a leather strap with a round silver medallion with an elaborate carved design of chains and symbols. It kind of gave Jamie the creeps.

"Spock, do you know any culture that would wear something like this?" She gave the Vulcan a questioning look.

"It appears to be of Orion origin, Captain," he replied, turning it over to carefully examine it. "Important clan members wear these as a status symbol."

This is way out of their territory," Jamie said, getting that sick feeling again.

"In addition, the architecture and dress of the natives are definitely not Orion." Spock continued, "I would hypothesize that this simple people group was lured into captivity by illegally operating slave traders."

The expression on Jamie's face was bleak. "And now, they've probably been sold off like Bones was to be treated worse than dogs. Why won't the Federation crack down on this?" 

"Unfortunately, the Federation is more concerned with maintaining peace. Starting war with Orion could bring in the Klingons as well, and that is a risk they don't want, despite the reprehensible practices of the slave traders." 

Spock almost looked sad as he said it. Jamie grimaced, but sighed resignedly.

"I hate it. All I can do is return to the ship and report the incident." She looked sadly back at it the abandoned houses, feeling the melancholy silence of the once thriving village. "If I ever get the chance, I'm going to find these people and bring them home," she vowed to herself as the planet disappeared. 

Back on the Enterprise, she made her report and went to see Bones, who was chewing out a couple of ensigns for being careless while patching them up. She smiled while she watched him. He was such a natural in Medbay. Hopefully, she could make him an official member of the staff one day. His skills were wasted on merely quick regen jobs and booster shots. Despite his gruff bedside manner, he was extremely good at repairing people. 

"I'm back, Bones!" She chorused when he was finished and the ensigns had scurried a way, metaphorical tails between their legs. Well, one was a Caitian, so he literally DID have his tail between his legs. The doctor's brown face relaxed into a smile as he caught sight of her. 

"Didn't tick off any locals, I assume?" 

"There weren't any locals to be ticked off," Jamie answered seriously, "Somebody rounded them all up and took them away."

She showed him the medallion and He drew a sharp breath when he saw it. "Orions?", he breathed.

"Afraid So," sighed Jamie. "It seems there's been a rash of incidents in this sector lately. Starfleet's been notified, but there's not much we can do. They're probably scattered around the galaxy by now." 

"Of course. And Starfleet won't do a dam thing about it."

This came out in a tense growl as he paced up and down the room. She walked over and put a supporting arm around him, gently soothing with the light touch.

"If these big raids keep happening, they will do something. The outcry has been getting louder and louder. Admiral Pike said he was working on something to show them we mean business." 

She looked at those brown-green eyes intently. They were a bit angry and understandably so. Jamie vowed to see that look gone for good if at all possible. She'd seen it in the mirror enough times already. They couldn't prevent what had happened, but she'd make sure it never did again, even if she had to take on all of Starfleet. 

"Why don't we head over to Scotty's and I'll share some of my embarrassing misadventures over some sandwiches and brew. Forget about Starfleet for awhile. What do you say?"

He looked at her, clouds clearing away at the tempting offer. "If you'll tell how you ended up on Delta Vega, sure. Could be interesting."

Bones quirked a half smile.

"It's a deal," Jamie agreed and shook his hand, liking how it easily swallowed up her own. Doctors had nice hands she thought, especially if they were named Leonard McCoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a couple rough days of babysitting, so it took me a long time to get this chapter done. Still recovering.


	8. Waiting In Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leonard moves forward with the process of healing and Jamie rants about stuff.

Leonard was beginning to relax and find his footing on the Enterprise. Two weeks after they left behind the vanished village, he had begun having sessions with the counselor Jamie had recommended. He had dreaded a full on interrogation on the condition of his psyche, but it wasn't like that at all. Dr. Dehner had simply started a friendly conversation about his job and specialty and Starfleet, taking the time to get to know him before delving into the tough stuff. Instead of throwing up walls and tensing up, Leonard found himself relaxing and opening up like he hadn't in years. 

He was still irritated about Starfleet's ambivalence on the whole issue of human/alien trafficking. Jamie was doing her best to change things, though it was like trying to move a mountain. After one particularly frustrating conversation with Admiral Komack, she had stormed to Leonard's quarters and raged for five minutes. 

"I'm not in favor of war generally, but It might have to happen to show those people we won't tolerate this. And they pass it off as a "cultural tradition!", she practically spat.

"Since when does that count as free reign for abuse?!! Gaila herself doesn't buy that nonsense either. She left Orion to get away from all that!"

She gave a frustrated sigh and added quietly, "I'm horribly afraid it's going to take something really tragic for Starfleet to get its head out of the sand. Pike's trying so hard, but Komack is an......." She bit her lip. 

Leonard, who had been watching her tirade with respect and more than a little awe, came over and sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her.

"Ass?" He supplied, "Stubborn old codger?"

She nodded, relaxing against him. There definitely was something going on between the two, but neither had put it into words yet. They knew they were good together, but they'd kept tiptoeing around the truth, holding their breath for fear of scaring the other off. 

Jamie wasn't tiptoeing around other truths, however. After a few minutes of silence, she dropped another nugget of news.

"Bones, I've found out some things about your Ex's whereabouts."

He started. Honestly, he'd almost forgotten about Jocelyn's existence in the presence of this impassioned woman.

"What is it?" He asked warily, hoping Joce wasn't going on some sort of psycho rampage after the news of his continued existence came out. Jamie laid a calming hand on his. 

"She went berserk and attacked her husband, Clay something or other. She's in jail now, and likely to be so for a long time."

Leonard didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, he felt relieved that she was finally in custody, on the other hand, he felt bad for Clay. He wasn't a bad guy, just gullible. He'd fallen for Jocelyn's act and ended up hurt, like Leonard. The difference was, he had better lawyers who'd make sure she got put away and hopefully got meds. 

"Doesn't surprise me. She could only hide her problems for so long before they showed up big time," he sighed. "She really thought she could power through on her own. Thought it would hurt her status if people found out she was on meds."

Jamie looked sympathetic and thoughtful. "That's what we all try to do. I would have ended up the same way without Pike intervening. I'm glad you started seeing Dr. Dehner, by the way."

"How'd you know, that?", Leonard asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Oh, clues here and there," Jamie said slyly. "I put two and two together. Isn't she great?" 

She smiled that dazzling smile again. "You're Great," thought Leonard to himself.

Out loud he responded, "Yeah. Wasn't at all what I thought," he observed, taking her hand, "More like a conversation between friends, not some weird probing questioning right off the bat about how everything makes me feel."

Jamie nodded. "That's exactly it. I'd tried other therapists and gave up pretty quickly, but she know how to ease you in to the difficult questions gradually. She can read BS a mile away, too."

He nodded in agreement, then startled when he realized their fingers were now intertwined. How had that happened?

He looked at Jamie, who was looking back at him rather intently.

"You know I'm claiming first rights to ask you out once you're ready, Bones?" 

Leonard chuckled at the possessive way she spoke.

"I hardly think there's a long line of suitors waiting to court me," he snorted in disbelief.

"Oh, there is," she responded softly. "I saw that pretty Andorian nurse making eyes at you the other day, and Chekov clearly has a crush. There's quite a lot of admiration when you walk by." 

He felt his face grow warm. "Yeah well, they ain't you. No chance. I've been sweet on you for awhile now," he admitted.

"Awww, Bones. That's the sweetest thing you've ever said," Jamie cooed. "You have such a good heart. I'd like to have you as CMO someday. M'Benga is probably going to get transferred one of these days. They need his skills on New Vulcan. You're going to be great, doing what you love again." 

"You have a lot of confidence in someone you've only known a month, Jamie. I hope I can live up to it."

He caressed her hand again. She gave him a steady look that made him kind of warm inside.

"You've given me no reason not to, Bones," she replied.

Why was it that he suddenly felt he could defeat an army of Orions and Klingons?


	9. An encounter with Dir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie comes face to face with Bones's former captor.

Jamie was right in her prediction that something drastic would have happen for Starfleet to come down on the Syndicate.

About a month after that talk with Bones the Enterprise was cruising along through an infrequently traveled area of Federation space, when an ominous-looking vessel appeared in the distance.

"What are they doing here?", she muttered. "Orions don't have any colonies anywhere near here. I bet it's hauling something it shouldn't be." Her mouth tightened at the thought.

"Spock, are there any planets nearby where they might be coming or going to deliver or pick up slaves?" 

"Only small planetoids with no sentient life, Captain. It could be heading to rendezvous with another ship to transfer prisoners in a poorly patrolled sector," the Vulcan informed her.

"Let's track it for a little while from a safe distance," Jamie decided. "Sulu, follow that ship. Lieutenant, keep your ears peeled for transmissions."

"Yes, Captain," Uhura and Sulu answered promptly.

They carefully tracked the path of the large vessel, which appeared to be a cargo ship, for over half an hour. It seemed very lackadaisical for a smuggling ship trying to move stealthily, but they soon found out why. Three Klingon warships suddenly decloaked right in front of the Enterprise and started firing. 

"Shields Up!" yelled the Captain as the ship was rocked with another blast. 

The red lights blared as the Enterprise began evasive maneuvers in an attempt to get away. Chaos ruled as they took blasts and returned them, getting closer and closer to the Orion ship which loomed ahead of them.

In the midst of trying to not get them all killed, Jamie hoped Bones was okay down in Medbay. She knew his difficulties with motion sickness and aviophobia. This was the first time it would really be tested since he'd been with them. 

She swore as three more warbirds appeared, pinning them in. The ship quaked again. The shields were weakening. There wasn't much more of this they could take before they'd have to back off. 

"Captain, we're being hailed!", called Uhura.

"By the Klingons?" Jamie asked worriedly.

"No, it's the Orion ship." 

"Oh. Okay, put them on. We'll see why they had their guard dogs attack us." 

A rugged, truly piratical looking Orion appeared on the screen. He had several scars on his green face and the lobe of one ear was gone. The other ear held a thick gold hoop. He grinned at seeing the surprise on Jamie's face.

"Hello, Captain," he said in a smug, gravely voice, "I see you have not learned to mind your own business. No one messes with an Orion's business." 

That immediately fired up Jamie. It was men and women like him who'd made Bones's life a living hell.

"We do when you're conducting illegal business in Federation territory," she replied frigidly.

"And just what "illegal business" are we conducting, Captain?"

Jamie put her hands on her hips. "Don't play innocent with me. Starfleet is well aware of the increased activity in species trafficking. We found evidence of a mass kidnapping barely a month ago, with Orion MO stamped all over it. They even left a clan necklace behind."

He sneered at her in contempt. 

"Even if you could prove that I, Dir, was responsible, you could not recover the goods after so long a time. The Federation will not be happy with your attempt to pick a fight. These Klingons are frothing at the mouth waiting to destroy you." 

Jamie was stunned. This was the man that actually had Bones in one of his filthy houses. The sick creep who viewed sentient beings as mere property for profit. She was so sickened by this realization she forgot to be worried about being destroyed for a moment. 

One of the Klingons fired again and the Enterprise answered quickly. In seconds the Warbird was obliterated.

"Listen up, Dir," Jamie said firmly, "even if your little friends manage to destroy my ship, Starfleet's going to come down on you hard. No more tiptoeing around your blatant disregard for Federation Laws. I've heard rumblings from headquarters. You've become greedy and taken too much. Now they're going to crack down." 

He laughed, a few gold teeth showing in his nasty mouth. "You foolish captain, they'll never hear from you again. We will take the choicest of your crew as prisoners before we obliterate the rest of you with your ship."

Revulsion swept through Jamie. No way was she going to let that happen. They had firepower the Klingons could only dream about. It was time to use it or die.

"You keep telling yourself that. May the best captain win," she cut off the connection as they took out another Warbird.

"Scotty, how are the shields?"

"Sixty percent, captain. We've got to fish or cut bait, so to speak, if we want to make it out of this intact." 

Jamie thought for a moment. She could flee the scene and leave all those prisoners on the Orion ship to their fate, or she could be a little nasty with the Klingons, disable the Orion ship, and save some lives. She knew what Komack would tell her to do, but running wasn't going to accomplish anything. She turned to her first officer.

"Well, Spock, we can run away from conflict like a good little peace-keeping ship, or we can fight through the Warbirds, disable the freighter, and save some people doomed to slavery. What do you say?" 

"The attack on our ship was unprovoked and the Orion admitted to illegal activities in Federation space. Therefore, you are certainly justified in seizing their vessel, Captain. If such action can be done with minimal loss of life, I see no reason to retreat."

Spock's agreement rather surprised Jamie, since he was usually very cautious about interfering, but she would take it. 

The Captain had no time to hesitate as the remaining warbirds were coming at them again.

"Sulu! Keep following the Orion ship!", Jamie commanded her helmsman. "Keep firing warning shots at the Klingons, let them know we're not after them. If they don't stop, cripple them. Our goal is that Pirate ship. She's too slow to get away."

Sulu barely had time to acknowledge the orders before the other Klingon ships were on them. He coolly knocked out a couple engines on each of them, leaving them too crippled to give chase. The Orion ship had put distance between them, but now free of obstacles, the Enterprise quickly narrowed the gap again. 

"These ships don't usually carry a lot of crew," explained Jamie," usually no more than twenty to guard the captives and keep the ship. If Scotty can beam five or six of us skilled in combat over there, we could get the jump on them and make our way up to the bridge. I'm itching to get ahold of Dir and lock him away for the rest of his miserable life." 

She gritted her teeth and pulled out her communicator. "Bones, how are things down there?"

"Busy. Lots of injuries," he answered. "You okay up there?"

"Yes," she sighed, "I was more worried about you when we were twisting and turning like that. They won't be bothering us again."

"That's good to hear," he replied. "I managed to keep my guts inside during that crazy roller coaster ride. Don't know how." 

"We're going to go take down your nemesis, Bones. Dir's on that ship." 

"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered grimly. "Please don't get yourself killed, Jamie. The vile bastard's vicious."

"I'll try not to, Bones. I'll even punch him in the face for you. He won't be ferrying slaves again if I have anything to say about it."

Bones sputtered out a laugh. 

"You're something, Jamie Kirk. Stay safe, now. I'll be helping out Geoff down here and counting the seconds til you get back."

His voice dropped an octave as he finished and Jamie could hear the worry and affection for her in it. She swallowed past a lump in her throat and responded in kind.

"I'm glad I have someone to come back to. And I will, Bones. Kirk out." 

She slipped the communicator back in her pocket and took deep breath. "Sulu, as soon as you've knocked out the power to the ship, you're coming with me," she ordered. "I need your space ninja skills to sneak up on those guys. Hendorff, get your three best officers and report to the transporter room. Shen, I'm borrowing you from Uhura, since we'll need someone to reassure the prisoners and who knows how many languages they speak." 

"Yes, captain", the young Andorian communications assistant replied, looking excited to be chosen.

Jamie smiled looking at her assembled team. Dir was SO going down.


	10. Best Gift Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie takes down Dir and confessions are made.

Leonard thought the wait to hear from Jamie again was interminable as he tried to busy himself with assisting Geoff in Medbay. If he let himself think too long, it quickly became an endless litany of things that could go wrong. It took a lot of guts to take on someone as ruthless as Dir. He hoped she made it back in one piece. No, scratch that. He DESPERATELY NEEDED her to come back in one piece. 

Who was he trying to fool? Leonard McCoy had fallen hard for Jamie T. Kirk and the thought of Dir getting his filthy hands on her made the man see red. He forced himself to breathe evenly and when the tide of wounded crew had ebbed, he fled to the observation deck to pace and wait.

The Orion ship was dead in the air, clearly damaged. Leonard was prepared to go right back to Medbay and help any way he could should prisoners be recovered. Memories swirled through his mind of half-starved, bruised and bleeding slaves he'd occasionally see between "customers". 

Their eyes were dull and they hardly spoke, spirits crushed from them after years of captivity. Until recently, Leonard had thought his was too, but the embers had been stoked back to life by the combined efforts of Jamie and Dr. Dehner, whom he was seeing twice a week. He was beginning to believe that he wasn't the filthy, worthless, used, sex object he'd firmly thought himself. No, he was a doctor, dang it, and a proud member of Starfleet. 

A long hour later, Geoff called him. 

"Leonard, they're beaming the rescued slaves on board now. We're going to need you here." He sounded uneasy.

"I'll be right there, Geoff," Leonard replied, instantly heading for the turbo lift. "Has the captain returned yet?"

"No, but she sounded like she had things under control. They've subdued the Pirates, apparently."

Leonard closed his eyes in relief as the lift started down. "Great. I'm on my way, Geoff." 

When Leonard made it to sickbay, there was a large mixed crowd of frightened, sickly looking humans and aliens. The med staff was attempting to sort out those most urgently in need of treatment, while Uhura was speaking to the various species in assuring tones and informing them they were safe.

Leonard recognized Orions, Andorians, Humans, Caitians, possible Betazoids, and species he had never seen before. 

He hurried into the fray and began doing what he was born to do. There were about fifty souls in all, the ship not being at full capacity yet. It appeared from what the rescued people were saying that the ship had just left an auction house and they were the ones who had not sold.

The regenerators were whirring continuously as wounds were treated, broken bones set, and burns repaired. Malnutrition was the main culprit, and yeomen were busy replicating nourishing soups and broths for the famished. Only a few needed to be put on IVs. 

The sight that crushed Leonard the most was a barely teenaged Orion girl who was quite obviously pregnant.

"Filthy trafficking scum!" He snarled to himself. "She's still a girl!!"

The poor thing was protectively clutching her tummy, looking around with wide, scared eyes. With the assistance of Gaila, the girl, who said she was fifteen, was calmed and allowed herself to be taken to an exam room where Nurse Chapel would take good care of her. Leonard knew the mood he was in would not help the girl at all so he contented himself with helping an Andorian with broken ribs instead. 

As the patients were beginning to thin out and taken to temporary quarters, a triumphant Captain strode through the doors, black shirt torn, face bruised, hair sticking out every which way, but a look of incredible satisfaction on her face.

Leonard thought she had never looked prettier when she fixed those flashing blue eyes on him and lit up like a rocket, practically launching herself at him. 

"We did it Bones!!!" She proclaimed, wrapping around him like an octopus. "Dirty Dir and his cronies are in the brig. No lives were lost."

Before he could get a word in edgewise or even move his arms, she pranced away again.

"I've got to get to the bridge and report this, but I promise you the whole story when we're finished taking care of things. It was awesome, Bones!! See ya!!"  
And she was gone again. 

Leonard shook his head at her whirlwind ways, smiling to himself. Then he saw the stares he was getting from Geoff and some of the nurses.

"What?", he asked innocently. "Did I grow an extra arm?"

"No, Len," laughed Geoff, "but I think SHE'S really grown on you." 

"Har, Har, Geoff, you're hilarious," Leonard grumbled mildly. But he was too happy at Jamie's success to really be annoyed. 

Once everything had calmed down that evening, she met him in the quiet rec room and they settled down at an empty table. Jamie was exhausted, but she listened to his report on the condition of the rescued slaves with interest and sadness, promising to check on the pregnant teenager personally. When he was done, she hastened to alleviate his worries for her.

"First of all, Bones, I'm okay. Geoff checked me out."

"Good to hear, Jamie-girl," he responded, eyeing her carefully.

"Is Starfleet giving you crap about this?"

She sighed and shrugged. "Yeah, but Spock and Pike have my back. It was an unprovoked attack in Federation territory, with a very illegal cargo. Admiral Komack will just have to get over his fear of Klingons."

"You continue to amaze me, Captain," Leonard said, shaking his head in wonder. "How did you pull it off? They've got pretty tight security in those ships." 

"Scotty and Chekov beamed pairs of us to different parts of the ship," she explained, "We each secured a section, made sure the guards were stunned and cuffed, and disabled security cameras. Then I sent Shen and a redshirt to start freeing the prisoners while the rest of us dealt with Dir on the bridge. He didn't go down without a fight, that's for sure, but I know a trick or two he didn't and had him begging for mercy by the time I was through."

She smoothed a stray lock of hair away from her still grimy face, grinning with fiendish delight at the memory of the hardened Pirate groveling at her feet. 

"Once we took care of him and his goons, we went to get the prisoners free and started beaming them to the Enterprise. Then we sent those slime balls straight to the brig. You should have seen Sulu kicking green butt. The man is a master at hand to hand. I'll have to take him on away missions more often." 

"I'll take your word for it," Leonard drawled. "I'm just glad to have you back here safe and sound."

He squeezed the hand he held as he showed her how serious he was with his eyes. She dropped her eyes bashfully and stared thoughtfully at their hands for a minute. 

"You know, Bones," she said softly, "there was one thing I should have done before I went over there and I was kicking myself for it earlier.

"What was that?", he asked her, hoping it was was similar to what he had been thinking.

"Told you how much I'm totally, completely, head-over-heels, in love with you."

Her honest declaration warmed Leonard deep down in that worn out heart of his. He got out of his seat and pulled her up with him so they were standing face to face.

"You know what would have happened, Darlin?" he said in a voice husky with emotion. "I would have told you how much I adore the ground you walk on and kissed those pretty lips of yours. It would have been awfully distractin'."

Jamie flushed and her smile got bigger as she looked up at him, blue eyes dancing with joy.

"Well, then, Bones, get on with the distracting if you're so inclined," she purred, leaning in close. 

Leonard took her face in his hands and carefully kissed her cute button nose and perky chin before settling on those full lips. It was the best "distracting" he'd ever done.

He felt her arms wrap around him and he reveled in the joy of kissing this woman he loved of his own free will and hers. If a few tears leaked out from the hazel eyes, well, Jamie made sure they didn't stay long. 

They had a long way to go, but they'd be walking it together, he was sure of that. And to think, it all started thanks to the "generosity" of the Dwerms. Not such a bad lot after all, Leonard thought. 

"How do you like your "present" now, Jamie?", he teased when they came up for air. 

She giggled with her forehead against his.

"Best gift ever," she whispered happily. "I'm never giving you back."

"Good, cause I'm clearly marked 'No returns or exchanges'" he grinned back.

"Don't want anybody but you, Bones," the earnestness with which she said this made him kiss her again. They forgot everything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fare thee well, good readers of this tale. For a while, I wasn't sure if I could finish it. But realizing I didn't need to post a chapter every day was key to unlocking my brain. I just need to let it happen rather than force it. Hope you enjoyed!!!


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